by Blou Bryant
She shrugged, “The top guy was still alive at the end, he tried to talk to me, but it was all, blah, blah, blah, so I really don’t know,” she said. “But, given that the vamps were all over the place an hour later, let’s assume they won the fight and everybody else died. It’ll make things easier if we move on and focus on the future rather than the past.”
“How’d you end up with them?” Wyatt asked, wanting to not believe her, gaining a small sense of hope upon hearing she didn’t know for sure.
“Baby, I don’t work with them, they work for me. Money makes the world go around, don’t you know. And I’ve got buckets of it now. How do you think I got that dumbass deputy to bring you here?” She looked over to Frankie and Officer Jack.
“You’re paying him?”
“That’s what he thinks,” she giggled. “But, I can’t have him tell people that I arrested you, can I? They’d expect that I’d do something dumb like my Daddy wanted, bring you back and turn you over to the prosecutor. That, my love, wouldn’t do.” She kept watching the other men.
“What is your plan for me then? Lock me up until I make you what you want to be? Will there ever be an end to it?”
“We’re all locked up, in our own ways. You might think of me as rich, beautiful and smart, but most days I feel like I’m stuck in a windowless box. At least, that’s how I used to feel.” She gave him a coy smile.
“Blah, blah, blah,” said Wyatt.
She ignored him and asked, “Would it be so bad to be a little bird in my cage? I’d treat you well.”
“How would you feel if our positions were reversed?”
“That’s different, we’re not talking about me. I’ve chosen to leave the box and do what I want, when I want. A thousand, a hundred, hell, even five years from now, will anyone care?” She asked and then answered her own question, “No, nobody will, so I might as well enjoy myself while I can.”
“And if people get in the way?”
“I’ll worry about me; they can take care of themselves. Nobody will care what happened to them, in the long run.” she said.
He followed her gaze as Frankie leaned into the car and pulled out a tire iron. Officer Jack, clearly not the fastest Hot Wheel in the toy-box, looked at it with confusion. Frankie had no such hesitation and slammed it into Jacks' head. The officer fell to the ground.
“My God,” said Wyatt. “You’ve gone insane.”
“No, I’ve gone sane. I won’t waste my life anymore.”
“You’re not even twenty, what do you know about life?” he asked.
“I know what I want, how about you, running man?”
Wyatt didn’t have an easy answer, he didn’t know what he wanted, but he was damned sure he didn’t want to spend it hurting others. He called out to the other officers, “Are you part of this? Will you really go around murdering innocent people for her? Come on guys, this is wrong!” He stared at them and they stared back. Not one lowered his weapon although all of them looked somewhat disjointed.
He sighed. “This is why the guys in red-shirts always die. Doing what you’re told without thinking gets you killed.” He waved his hands at the silent group of men, “Come on, you get only one episode, guys, be a star, don’t be that guy who everyone forgets by scene two.” None of them moved, that would have required that they take responsibility, and that they make a decision on their own. It was easier to follow orders.
Jessica watched the interaction and giggled. “I love my new life,” she said.
Wyatt scowled in disgust. “So, what’s next?”
“Your scientist guy, he did a bunch of tests. Joe sent them to me,” she said and smiled at the angry look on Wyatt s face. “Oh, didn’t you know? He’s been texting me all along. The whole thing was his idea.”
Wyatt wanted to say he didn’t believe her, but he did, instantly. Joe was using her and was likely in contact with Ford as well. It wasn’t a surprise, this filled in the last pieces of the puzzle for him.
She, as always, was too focused on herself to notice his reaction. She kept speaking. “You got infected with V32 at the lab. Your tall scientist didn’t figure out why, but it does nothing to you, you’re just a carrier. That makes you special, but even funkier, you’re able to pass it on to others.”
“So, are you going to suck my blood like one of your vampire buddies?”
“You wish, big boy. I’ll get a scientist of my own. He’ll figure out how to use it on me.”
“Why not just make it yourself if you’ve got smart scientists. You’ve got enough money; you could get thirty of them.”
“There’s smart and then there’s genius. Unfortunately, the guy who created it is dead and my guys don’t have his mojo. You remember him, Dr. Nick.”
“I remember when you shot him.”
“I did, didn’t I? But it shouldn’t have killed him, it was just a knee. It’s too bad, he bled out, the wimp, so I need whatever you’re carrying.”
Wyatt considered what to do and glanced at Teri, who shook her head. Not now, not yet, she seemed to say. Smart choice, as Frankie called over for two of his deputies to help him. He gave Jack one more hit with the pipe and then threw it into the car. “Come on, move it,” he yelled. “I’ll fire your asses, get over here.”
Wyatt inched closer to Jessica, who waved her gun, “Be careful, handsome,” she said.
“Six guys with guns and you with one too, you think I will try something?”
She waved him over to the car, “I would, so yes, I do think you will try something. Come on, you can join me, but don’t get too close.”
“And when you’ve got what you want?”
“What’s the question?”
“What do you do with me?”
“You’re so selfish,” she said. “It’s all about you. Fine, I’d let you go.”
“Let’s not lie to each other. We’ve been through so much.”
“I’m not lying and could let you go. Heck, I’d even let you take the kid with you,” she said and pointed at Teri with the little revolver. “I’m not a sadist, I don’t like hurting people, but I don’t dislike it either, but it’s just a thing I need to do.”
He contemplated this, and while she was a liar, he believed she only did what was necessary to make her happy. Would she let him go? It posed a small risk to her, and that small risk was enough for her to get rid of him. She certainly didn’t make an effort to be nice. Teri caught his eye and shook her head. He nodded agreement, faintly enough that nobody else likely noticed.
“So, now we go back to Chicago?” he asked, prolonging the discussion, looking for his opening.
“You got it, we see what we can tease out of that lovely blood of yours. I'll be busy, though, I have a business to run now. You know, I should have done this years ago, I bet it’ll be a lot more fun than stupid school.”
“So, what do I…” he said and stopped at the sound of a commotion by the far police car. The back door on the other side had opened and Mr. Golde crawled out. He was a mess, blood dripping down his face from an ear that was torn off. His hair, which was apparently a wig, was askew, and deep gash marred his head. His eyes were wide and his face pale. He looked panicked as he limped away from the car.
“Someone, help me,” he yelled and tripped face forward into a large muddy puddle.
“Oh, for crying out loud,” she replied. “Frankie, I don’t like jobs that are half done.”
“Sorry, Jessica,” he yelled back.
She muttered under her breath. “Can you believe that,” she asked Wyatt as Frankie grabbed the pipe out of the car. “He called me by my first name. Who does he think he is?” She shook her head and said, “Come on, get it done. And call me Ms. Golde, please and thank you, Frankie.”
Frankie had reached the front of the car and said, “Sorry Ma’am.”
Golde pushed himself up from the puddle, horror in his eyes, “Frankie, don’t do this. Jessica, tell him,” he yelled.
She ignored her father and Frankie
pushed him to the wet ground. He kicked him in the face several times, then put one boot on the back of his neck, and held him down in the puddle.
Jessica muttered under her breath, “Idiot,” and then shouted to Frankie, “That won’t do it, the puddle is too shallow to drown him. You’re lazy, that’s why he’s still walking. Don’t hurt him, just kill him, and get it over with. This isn’t play time.” she yelled.
Wyatt watched in horror as Frankie stepped back and hefted the steel pipe over Golde’s head. He turned at the sound of a faint click from Teri. He looked at her and saw her nod slightly. What, he asked, silently? She looked to the other officers and then Jessica.
He followed her gaze and found the other officers transfixed by the sight of their boss kicking the former owner of their business to death. Jessica as well watched, with little more expression on her face than that of a shift supervisor at McDonald s helping a new hire cook fries.
Channeling his own inner psychopath, Wyatt didn’t hesitate. He half turned towards her and punched her hard in the face. She fell back on the hood of the car and he grabbed the gun from her with his other hand.
He pivoted, grabbed her head, lifted it up, slammed it down again and then pulled her against him, twisting so she was between him and her officers.
His left arm wrapped around her unconscious body and held her head up by the chin. He made sure they could see the gun pointed at her side.
Mere seconds was all it took him. Three of the officers still didn’t even have their weapons raised when he looked up. The fourth, on his left, had a gun aimed directly at Wyatt. He wasn’t looking at him, though. He was focused on Teri, who had one hand out, pointed at him.
“No,” she said. He shook his head, and she repeated her order, “No,” again. The officer dropped his weapon to the ground, his eyes never leaving the child’s face. Wyatt would later swear that he saw sparks of blue electricity in her eyes.
Wyatt backed up to the side of the car, taking care to keep Jessica between him and the remaining three officers. “One move and your boss loses her insides, got it?” he said. They didn’t respond but didn’t move either. Red-shirts, definitely, he thought.
To Teri, he said, “Open the front door for me, quick.”
She put her hand down and the officer fell to the ground, unconscious. Wyatt navigated his way around until he stood in the entrance to the car, partially shielded from the others.
To Teri, he said, “Get in the back,” and when she did, he lowered himself into the car, with Jessica’s body draped over his, her legs dangling out of the open door.
The keys were still in the ignition and it started immediately, attracting Frankie’s attention, and he interrupted clubbing his old boss to look up. Panicked, he yelled at the two officers with him and ran back towards the car. Wyatt couldn’t hear what he said, he’d already put it in drive and had pressed the gas pedal to the floor.
Chapter 24
Wyatt peeled out of the auto wrecker, yanking the wheel left and then right to avoid piles of messed up cars. The car door swung open and closed, banging into Jessica as he spun the car through the maze. Her head was on his lap and her legs were dragging outside the door, and as much as he’d have loved to let her go, he needed her.
He stopped at the entrance to the junkyard. He pulled her fully into the car, and tried to move her across into the passenger seat, but couldn’t do it without both hands. He cursed and put the car into park and took a quick look in the rear-view mirror. Nobody behind them, but it wouldn’t take long.
He grabbed the waistband of her dress and dragged her limp body fully into the car. With effort, he shoved her across him into the passenger seat. He noticed that her white shoes were covered in mud. Boy, was she going to be pissed, he thought, and couldn’t resist a smile. He searched the front of the car for something to tie her down with and found handcuffs in the glove box. He put one pair on her wrists and used a second pair to anchor the first set to the car door.
Wyatt wiped the sweat off his brow and slammed his door shut. He checked the mirror again and put the car into gear, and, one foot on the brake, he asked Teri, “Got your belt on?”
She clicked twice.
“Ready for a drive?”
Two clicks again.
Wyatt looked left and right and chose right, away from town. The road led south and while he didn’t know how to get to the Army Depot and Joe, he knew it was south. He let his foot off the brake and pressed down, hard, on the gas as he twisted the wheel all the way to the right. The tires screeched as they left the dirt and joined the roadway and the car bolted forward. The back of the car spun to the left, back to the right and evened out. Beside him, Jessica jerked back and forth. Her head made a cracking sound as she whipped into the window.
On the road now, he took a moment to look down at the dash. The car was a Ford, but it was very different from other Fords he’d driven. A red light on the display notified him that ‘Pursuit Mode’ was engaged. There was a small computer screen between him and Jessica and a series of red lights on the dash with buttons next to them. They probably were for sirens and such. He ignored them and focused on the road.
Soon, they were at least a mile away, in the country again, houses few, the road narrow with deep ditches on each side. The speedometer displayed sixty, but it wasn’t fast enough for Wyatt. He looked into the mirror, over Teri’s small head and could see the other three cars had pulled out and were chasing after them.
“How are you doing, Teri?” he asked.
Teri clicked twice. “Me too,” he replied. While he hated to admit it, he was having fun.
A sharp corner approached, and he pushed on the gas, feeling the wheels on the left side of the car leave the ground as they rounded the corner. Jessica whiplashed across the front of the car, slammed into him and then back to the other side. Her head made another thud as it hit the window again.
Teri said “Seatbelt.”
“Yes, put your seatbelt on.”
“J” she said.
“Jessica? Are you kidding me, you care if she hits her head a few times?”
Click, click.
“Teri, we’re not exactly…”
Click, click.
Wyatt took his foot off the gas, grabbed the belt and pulled it over Jessica. The car swerved onto the gravel and he almost lost control, one set of tires spitting up dirt and rocks. He let go of the belt and grabbed at the wheel with both hands. He took a long, deep breath and looked in the mirror. Their pursuers were getting closer. “You know I’m not the only one here with three hundred horsepower, right? I am however the only one who doesn’t have a gun.”
Click.
No? He thought for a second. “Oh right, I have a gun,” he said, “Great, but I don’t care if I have a gun,” he yelled at Teri, “I’m not getting into a shoot-out with Jessica’s private army!”
“Belt,” was her reply.
Wyatt had the right to a mental breakdown, he figured, right there and then, he wanted to rage, to yell and scream, but at an eleven-year-old? So what if he enjoyed listening to Jessica’s head smack into the window. Was that so wrong after all she’d done?
“Belt.”
Wyatt slammed on the brakes, whipping everyone forward, and put the car into park. Without a seatbelt, Jessica was flung forward and slammed her head into the dashboard. “Are you happy?”
Two clicks.
He looked back at Teri, ready to scream at her, but stopped at the sight of her angelic little face and the strange twisted smile. Ok, he thought. Get a grip. Through the back window, he watched the patrol cars catch up. To his surprise, they slowed and stopped about twenty yards back. He watched them watch him and then leaned over and put on Jessica’s seat belt.
He was about to put the car in drive when Frankie said, “Put your arms up and get out of the car,” over a speaker.
Wyatt looked for a microphone. There was one on the other side of the computer screen. He flicked the switch and said, “No,
you.”
There was a long silence before Frankie replied over his speaker, “What?”
Wyatt said. “You get out and put your hands up.”
There was silence in response.
Wyatt clicked the mike again, “Surrender and you won’t be harmed.”
“You have ten seconds to get out of your cars and surrender,” replied the officer.
Wyatt clicked the mike. “You have five seconds,” his voice booming out over the fields. A pair of cows looked on, unconcerned.
A car door opened briefly in the lead car and then closed. “Wyatt Miller, stop using the loudspeaker.”
“No, you.”
Frankie sputtered over the speaker, “Listen, you little ass, you are under arrest. Exit your vehicle.”
Wyatt laughed but knew the game wouldn’t go on long. “I guess it’s time to involve Joe”, he said to Teri, who likely had no clue what he was talking about. He turned on the phone and tossed it on the dash. “Let’s have fun. Hold on, girls.” Teri clicked twice. Jessica, still out cold, stayed silent.
“Let’s roll,” he said and put the car in gear and took off. He could see for miles ahead, the road was straight, sloping down into a small valley and then up over a hill. With nothing in his way, he put the engine to the test and the resulting burst of speed impressed him. The dash again lit up for pursuit mode and the car rocketed forward, reaching sixty, seventy and then eighty miles an hour. He smiled to himself. If only his driving instructor could see him now.
The three cars behind followed them at a safe distance, not trying to pass or engage. Wyatt figured his unconscious passenger made them more careful than they’d usually be. Don’t run the boss off the road, was a good rule of work life, even if the boss was a psychopath, out cold and a prisoner of a supposedly dangerous murderer.
It wasn’t more than a minute before the phone rang. Wyatt reached up and answered the call. “Hi Joe. We’re on our way,” he said, not bothering to check who it was.
“Wyatt, I’ve been worried about you.”
